The Girl In Green
by FrostForever
Summary: Kanrose/Rosemary AU. In a world where trolls and humans coexist, an order known as the Campaign is plotting a genocide of trolls. Read the dramatic and adventurous tale of two women of two races struggle to keep their love alive.
1. Prologue

The rain fell heavily as its droplets pounded against the city concrete. Posters cluttered walls of establishments, apartments, telephone poles, and other such metropolitan structures. The posters ranged in all different colors, written in many languages to inform both human and alternian populations of the public's wishes. The posters called for an end to trolls; casting them out as demonic beings come to destroy Earth and all its inhabitants, ignorant to the fact that the same race they were attempting to eradicate was their creators. The entire scenario was utterly preposterous. The ignorance of such propaganda was enough to make any educated person sick to their stomachs. Unfortunately, the uninformed humans quickly embraced this common enemy, while the more educated and understanding humans either ran the bloodthirsty campaign or were persecuted for speaking out against such atrocities.

Rose Lalonde was on her way to another mandatory rally. They made her sick, but she rationalized that there was not much that she could do about the matter, considering the very realistic fact that one girl against the entire world would be difficult, and as of the present, the Campaign had not taken steps to ensure that their bloody genocide was taken into effect against innocent trolls. As of now, they were only empty promises and threats; nothing to get too upset or worried about.

Rose pulled her the hood of her purple cloak over her head, her long-sleeved black shirt sitting idly beneath. She wore black combat boots with a modest knee-length purple skirt accessorized only by her purple headband with conspicuous black rhinestones. She held her umbrella, adorned with cats, over her head as she followed the rest of the procession out to an amphitheatre, which in her mind was impractical, considering the unkind weather that was common in that geographic location. Nonetheless, she resolved to comply with the idiotic demand.

Although these assemblies were held on the prefix that all members of the city, human and troll alike, were to attend, as rallies continued on, the human population began to overwhelm the dissipating amount of trolls in the audience. For good reason, too. It had come to speculation that trolls were merely invited to such rallies for the sole purpose of antagonizing them. As soon as the rally would end, or sometimes in the middle of a rally, violence broke out between some poor troll who had "overstepped their boundaries". The ruling would always be in the favor of the human.

The last rally thrown by the Campaign had been interrupted by a young male troll. He yelled at the leader of the Campaign, who had yet to reveal himself to the public, that they did not respect the hemospectrum. He ranted about how someone such as himself could possibly be persecuted. To put it simply, the humans could care less about any aspect of troll culture. The interruption was regarded as rude and completely uncalled for. Violence broke out. In the end, the trolls blood had been revealed to be purple. The humans had managed to kill a prince with not so much as a miniscule punishment in place.

At this memory, Rose drew her own purple hood downward a bit more. Was she scared of the Campaign? In all honesty; she didn't know. They posed no threat to her or her safety, however if they did they could do powerful things that could very well result in her imminent death. Rose Lalonde kept to herself on most matters. In her opinion, equality would have been the best answer to all this nonsense, but such words were best kept unsaid. She often times would watch trolls and the harassment bestowed upon them with pity…and then she would walk away and try to erase the image from her mind.

Once, she heard tale of an uprising. Some secret group referred to as the Order. The Order possessed members of both the troll and human race; their goal was equality for all. Rose's brother, Dave, had once talked about joining. They held the same beliefs that equality and unity amongst the races would make for a better society, but even those conversations kept in confidence occurred sparsely and, if at all, through notes that were shredded and burned within seconds of ending, and in that case, hardly the beginning of the conversation. Dave almost went off to join the Order, but it did not take long before the location of the Order was discovered, and all members were tried.

Members of the troll race faced either torture or immediate death. The leader, a troll named Karkat Vantas, was publicly executed in the middle of a raging speech that seemed to penetrate the armor of even some of the most zealous followers. However, once the guillotine was brought down upon his head, and the candy red blood flowed, those words only hung in the air and died with his voice. Public execution of resistance groups had become a common occurrence, however, the human members of these groups would simply disappear. Gossip suggested an equally fitting death was bestowed upon them just like their alien counterparts, however, more gruesome talk rumored slavery, torture, and even assimilation for those who were adept in strategy or skill.

As the mass of people began to thicken into a crowd, Rose Lalonde made her way to the vanguard of the human mass. She did not enjoy these speeches, but she had been under suspicion for some time. Children, and even people at her institution, had begun to spread rumors about her resistance against the Campaign. Even her professors had begun to read into her assignments as sarcastically symbolic remarks to leaders of the Campaign, or the very cause itself. Though completely true; it was best not to put oneself out like such. The equivalence would be like drawing a red target on oneself and begging for a merciless beating.

Rose settled into position, and prepared for a long, digressing lecture on the subject of trolls and their inferiority. She would not take any of it to heart, and mentally subjugate the proceedings to critical abuse. Rose began to smile slightly, the sides of her black lips almost creating a smirk. An assistant dressed in all white took the stage. On a black stool, in front of a microphone, he placed a small black and brown radio-type box. From this box was transmitted the words of their fearless, unnamed, invisible leader. Rose smirked again. _Fearless? I suppose the word could be used to describe one who cowers behind the safety of a box in some unknown location, completely void of threat, _she thought sarcastically.

"My fellow citizens of…," the voice began to speak. The speech continued to progress, the normal routine script of words that began each and every meeting. Rose looked around her. Nothing out of the ordinary. She had never stood in the front before. Rose normally preferred to stand in the middle for strategic purposes. If you stood in the front, it could be assumed you were a firm believer of the Campaign and their creed, however, if you stood in the back you were considering heretical. The entire gathering was like a double-edged sword.

Beside Rose stood a girl, also cloaked head to toe. Her cloak was heavy, wrapping her in dark green. Her hands drew the cloak shut with white gloved hands. She was looking down so that her face was hidden. The raindrops ran off her cloak and had the leader not been in the middle of his speech, Rose would have offered her sanction under her umbrella.

The mystery of the girl intrigued Rose. She seemed a puzzle, one Rose was determined to solve. Her thought was interrupted with the screams and cheers of faithful followers. Rose had not even paid attention to what the man had said. She thought it may be time she began to listen in once more. Unwillingly, she turned her gaze from the girl in green back to the box.

The voice continued with,"-nd. It is time for us, as the rightful rulers of this Earth…_OUR _Earth, to usurp our power back into our hands. My fellow humans, it is time for us to exterminate the alien scum! My friends, nay, my brothers and sisters, it is time to rise up!"

A loud uproar went through the crowd.

The assistant in white turned off the box.

Then chaos ensued.


	2. Our Leader

The riot had begun with the loud screaming of enraged, spirited humans. They were almost animalistic in the way they fed off the leader's words. It was as if the air they breathed in and out had been produced by the leader himself. _As if he was some sort of plant in the process of photosynthesis, _Rose thought, completely amused by the idea. She began to picture this great leader as a plant. A large oak with great massive leaves…with the mouth of a Venus fly trap…that spewed out bile.

Rose's imagination was cut short by a loud blood-curdling feminine scream.

Rose whirled around to find a young troll with short black hair, wearing a blue hat being picked up by a human. The boy must have been only a few years older than Rose. He threw the girl to one of his friends, another brunette boy wearing the symbol of their leader, a white circle, as a sort of brooch. Lalonde's initial reaction was to get out of this mess as soon as possible. She had no inclination of to stay and watch as humans beat up on innocent trolls for no other reason than they had imagined themselves to be superior.

However, when Rose turned away in the direction of the girl in green, she saw that the girl was heading toward the fray, perhaps in an attempt to assist the young troll. Feeling obligated to do so, Rose grabbed the girls white gloved hand. The silk glove almost immediately slipped from Rose's fingers, but she was determined to make sure that the fight did not grow unnecessarily larger and in that retrospect, that the girl in green would not be punished.

What was she thinking? Didn't this girl know that abetting a troll was just as dangerous as being one yourself? Rose grabbed the girls wrist firmly so that she would have even more of an advantage over her. Rose turned and without the girl's consent, began to pull her away from the crowd. By this point, Rose had dropped her umbrella, not caring that the rain was now soaking her cloak. After all, wasn't the purpose to keep the wearer dry? Besides, her goal now was more important than not getting wet. Her goal now was to safely get her and the girl in green away from the chaos.

Rose maneuvered through the crowd of people adeptly. It seemed helpful that the girl she was leading was complying with her every silent demand. Perhaps the girl in green had realized what she had done and now thought it best to follow her. Whatever the reason, the girl was undoubtedly tailing behind Rose and that was all that mattered. Suddenly, Rose came to an abrupt halt and the girl behind her nearly ran into her, stopping herself by gently placing a hand on Rose's back.

"Of course…," Rose said quietly out loud. In front of them, authoritarian members of the Campaign had begun to form a circle around the crowd. No one could get out. Trolls or humans alike. This must have been a ploy to create even more violence and hysteria. Something the Campaign must have known enraged humans would take out on not each other, but any remaining trolls. The guards were dressed in their signature white suits, the same as the assistant. Rose cursed under her breath as she looked around for some means of escape.

Obviously nothing at ground level would work. Rose couldn't very well fly out of there. The very notion was preposterous. _Think, Lalonde…_, Rose thought to herself, becoming frustrated that the answer had not presented itself as easily as it normally did. She had begun to consider charging the men when she heard the girl from behind her.

In a lightly accented voice that was smooth as silk and medium in pitch, the gloved hand extended with a lengthened pointer finger, "There."

On the floor was a sewer grate. Though granted not one of the most sanitary escape routes, it was the only one that seemed available at the time. The only obstacle would be the threat of stampede or being seen, however, with little option, the risk would have to be taken. Rose immediately knelt down and began attempting to lift the circular metal. She saw the mark of the Order, the sign of that Vantas troll, but at that moment paid it no mind. Across from her, she saw the girl in green kneeling to assist her. Together, they managed to lift the grate from its resting position.

"I insist that you go first," Rose demanded in a submissive tone. Though most would be confused by the inclination versus the diction, the girl in green seemed to pick up on the demand immediately and made her way down the silver bolted ladder into the dark cylindrical hole. As soon as the girl had gotten down far enough, Rose began to follow suit. She placed her feet on the third ledge of the ladder and with her torso still at ground level, she attempted to close the grate behind them. However, the metal was too heavy and the more Rose sat there attempting to close it, the longer the chances of her being seen grew, so, Rose opted with leaving the grate half open and continued down into the abyss.

By the time her feet reached the ground, only a sliver of light fled into the underground tunnels. The stench was unbearable as urine and feces embalmed the area. Screaming could still be heard from above as raindrops precariously dripped through the hole above. Rose's heart almost stopped as she looked at the girl before her. She had removed her hood, revealing her pale gray skin and pale yellow eyes. Her short black hair was accompanied by her candy-corn colored horns. Beneath the girls dark green lips protruded a pair of pearly white fangs.

"You…you're a troll…," Rose stated, a bit of awe in her voice, not only because of the discovery, but also because of the troll's beauty that had caught Rose off guard. Under the girl's cloak, she was wearing a slimming blackish-green dress that matched the color of her lips with a white sash across her waist. The hem of the skirt extended all the way to her ankles, which met her black slip-on shoes.

"I am," the girl began, "Did you not realize this?"

"No…I didn't. If I had then-"

"You wouldn't have stopped me?"

Rose paused. Though this was the truth, she took it upon her best interest to change the subject, "My name is Rose Lalonde. What is yours?"

"Kanaya Maryam," the girl replied. When she spoke, she did so very clearly, enunciating each word and spoke slow, but not so much that her words lost their tone. "I know these areas well. If you like I could escort you to your hive."

"…my house? That might prove useful," Rose responded, a little weary of the troll. She had never actually spoken to one before, having all her life been kept separate from them.

Kanaya nodded, removing her gloves and placing them in a pocket concealed within her cloak. She looked back to Rose and gave a small smile, "I approve of your wardrobe. It suits you. Follow me."

Kanaya turned and began to lead the way. Rose followed close behind, thinking about how ironic it must have been now that she was the follower and not the leader. The light continued to dim as the catacomb-like tunnels reflected little light from holes in grates above. The screaming still pursued. No matter how far they continued to walk, it seemed as though the rally had escaped throughout the city

…And that was just what had happened. Rose had deduced that the servants of the leader had loosened their restraint on the crowd. They had allowed the animals to run free to wherever in the city their hearts had desired. It was sickening. The way the unnamed leader fed off of mankind's most disgusting base qualities. Surely this whole ruse was for his perverse entertainment. How many innocent lives would be lost in the madness? Not just troll, but human as well? Some trolls would no doubt defend themselves or others at the expense of their murderous assailant. The death of that human would then be used to the Campaign's advantage, completely ignorant of the fact that their rally had actually been the very cause of their own "brother/sister's" downfall.

There was a sudden _THUMP _as the two were passing beneath yet another loose grate. As the noise had struck, the light had gone out. From the passage, green liquid flowed down the gray stone wall. Though the room had been considerably darker, Rose still made out the expression on Kanaya's face as she had turned to examine the sight. Her eyes widened and terror seemed to fill them. Yet, that lasted only momentarily. It appeared to Rose that Maryam's strength and desire to proceed had more influence over her movements than fear.

Kanaya grabbed Rose's hand, "Let's go."

"Miss Maryam?," Rose began as this thought had arisen in her mind, grateful for a change of subject as something to temporarily wipe away what had just been seen , "Do you know where my house….hive…is?"

"I…just assumed all humans lived within a close vicinity of one another…," the girl let out, hints of insecurity of the matter indefinitely shining through.

"Don't worry yourself on the matter. If we continue to walk I'm sure wherever we decide to surface I'll be able to recognize the location," Rose stated with a slight smile as she made her way next to the girl instead of remaining behind her. She looked down at their hands and let go as a small blush had slyly made its way to her cheeks.

Kanaya let go as well, green beginning to adorn her light skin, "My apologies."

Rose opened her mouth to console the girl when she was suddenly tackled from behind.

"Karkles, you're back! You're back! I knew you weren't really killed! That would have been impossible! I could smell you anywhere! Well…I mean…down here it's kind of hard because it reeks down here…but I know it's you, right? Seriously, Vantas, just say something! I don't care what it is! I've missed you so much I-," the girl was cut off by another, more submissive voice.

"U-Um…Terezi? I…um…I don't really think that's Karkat…," the boy in the wheelchair pointed out.

Rose looked up at Kanaya from her position on the ground, "Friends?"

Kanaya had a hand over her face as she replied, "Undoubtedly…"

"Jegus, tz. If you keep going around assuming every human you meet is kk, you're going to get us all killed!," the other boy started with a lisp, "Oh…no offence, Aradia."

"None taken," another troll with white eyes pleasantly responded.

Terezi hesitated before getting off of Rose, "So…you're just another human?"

"I'm sorry to disappoint," Rose let out as she sat up. Kanaya offered her a hand to help her up, which Rose graciously accepted.

"Oh man…," Terezi sighed a little to herself, "I'm sorry…I'm usually much cooler than this."

"No you're not," the one with the lisp retorted.

"Sollux!," Aradia let out in surprise. "You can't blame her after what happened with…well…you know. You remember how upset you were when I died, don't you?"

"Yeah. You're right. I'm sorry I guess," apologized Sollux.

"U-Um…guys?," the crippled troll mumbled.

Rose looked into Kanaya's eyes only a moment more before focusing her attention back to the group of new acquaintances. Then it finally hit. Rose turned back to Kanaya and asked with a mixture of awe and curiosity, "You are acquainted with Karkat Vantas? The same one who led the Order?"

Kanaya offered a small smile as she responded, "More than acquainted. He was our leader and a very dear friend."

"Your leader? …You were part of the Order?," Rose asked astonished.

Kanaya nodded and pointed to the brooch that held her cloak together. The symbol holding it that bound both pieces of cloth was the same sign that was on the sewer grate. The sign of the Signless.

"That's great, Kanaya. You have such a wonderful idea. Tell the human that more of us are still left in the Order. That won't cause anything terrible to happen at all," Sollux let out sarcastically.

"Guys. I really think you should-," Tavros was cut off again.

"Sol, let me remind you that humans were as much a part of the Order as trolls. The only difference is that none of the humans escaped and we did," Aradia reminded.

"Exactly. You're too trusting, aa," Sollux began, "If all the humans that were part of the Order went missing or were killed or whatever; then wouldn't that only leave the humans that want to hurt us?"

"Sol…there is a very good reason why I am sure Rose will not hurt us," Aradia began.

Rose whispered to Kanaya, "How does she know my name?"

Kanaya responded with a shrug. Aradia opened her mouth to continue, when a loud laugh made its way into the tunnel.

"…Vriska's back…," Tavros muttered to himself.

"Damn, Megido. For someone who was killed by those humans, you really do have flushed feelings for them, don't you?," the troll with long black hair said as she emerged from the tunnels. "This better not become a habit, Maryam."

"Oh? What habit would you be referring to?," Kanaya said with a mock light-heartedness, glaring at the one-eyed troll.

"Bringing humans into our shitty sanctuary…no pun intended," Vriska began as she made her way over to Rose, "I leave for five seconds to try and find some food for you hopeless losers and come back to find everyone ogling over this repulsive human! As newfound leader of the Order, I-"

"That was the point I was about to make before I was interrupted," Aradia began with a knowing smile.

"Watch it, Megido. Don't say anything you'll regret," Vriska threatened giving her attention to the floating ghost troll.

"Don't worry. I won't," Aradia said, smile not waning in the least, "I don't understand why you continue to gloat about being our leader…"

"Because I'm the highest on the hemospectrum now! It should be obvious to everyone that I am the next candidate to become the leader," Vriska announced, eyeing Aradia with hatred.

"…you didn't let me finish…," Aradia said. She dismissed Vriska's outburst by clearing her throat and continuing, "When you aren't meant to be our leader."

"What are you-"

"Rose is."


	3. Until Tomorrow

The tunnel turned completely silent with the exception of the sloshing river beside them. Rose looked to Aradia perplexed by the promotional accusation. Rose opened her mouth to say something and within the split second between her words and the silence, everyone seemed to have the same idea as the newly professed leader and a jumble of sounds began to tumble from all present mouths. Terezi's laughter was the first to cut through the silence.

"W-Wow, Serket, being beat to leadership by a human!" Terezi laughed, "And you call us losers!"

Vriska's cheeks turned a deep blue with embarrassment, "Oh shut your trap, Pyrope! I don't see you taking any initiative here! You do nothing to contribute to the group! All you do is mope over your dear dead matesprit. It's pathetic. Maybe his death was better for you. It'll make you stronger. You know what? I'm glad Karkat was killed. He was weak and-"

"Shut the up, Vriska!" Terezi yelled back at the spider troll, "Karkat was a much better leader than you will ever be and everyone here knows it! Isn't that right, Tavros?"

"Uh…I-I…um…well…," Tavros stammered out.

"Bullshit! Tavros, tell this filthy lowblood that I'm a much better leader than that mutant freak," Vriska demanded of the crippled troll, not rescinding her statement no matter the irony of her enlisting a lowblood to insult a midblood.

"W-Well I-I think that um…th-that…well…uh…you were both...well not both, but I mean…uh…yeah…maybe you both were…or are…," Tavros stammered out finally coming to a conclusion.

"Oh shut up, Nitram, no one cares what you think!" Vriska let out after a few seconds, not tolerating the slow and broken response.

As Terezi and Vriska continued to argue with meek interjections from Tavros to break up the fray every once in a while, Sollux turned his head to look up at Aradia who was regarding the site with a blank expression.

Sollux smirked as he said,"Nice job, Aradia. It only took too words from you to make the entire resistance fall apart."

Aradia looked back down at Sollux while saying, "I didn't intend for so much chaos to occur…I just thought we'd talk it out and everything would be alright. Rose is still going to be our leader regardless of what anyone says or thinks. It's just supposed to happen that way. …I just pictured things running more smoothly…"

Sollux chuckled, "You expected Vriska to just lay down and let you steal a title that bestows so much power like 'leader' from her? Yeah right. I can't wait to see the day that happens."

Aradia smiled that knowing smile once again, causing Sollux to raise an eyebrow.

"No," he started, "No. No. No. No. No. aa, I swear to gog if you start spewing your prophetic stories again…"

Aradia giggled,"No, Sol. I just thought that what you said was interesting, because you knew that was exactly what _wasn't _going to happen. Have you been hearing voices again? Have they finally come back to you?"

"No, I just know Vriska. That's all…and besides…I don't know if I want to start hearing them again. Those things were as creepy as fuck. I know you probably don't understand since you could have a field day with all that creepy shit, but for me…and other normal people, hearing voices in your head that no one else can hear kind of gets to you," Sollux responded.

"But what if they're just trying to tell you something important? Have you at least tried listening to them lately?" Aradia asked in a soothing tone.

"Were you listening to anything I just said? No, aa, I don't want to start listening again. I'm done," Sollux replied firmly, but not angrily.

While the two continued to speak under the tones of Pyrope's and Serket's yelling, Rose thought about the opportunity in front of her.

She allowed the words to tumble from her mouth as the noise as written above commenced stating very blatantly and clearly, "I respectfully decline."

Kanaya was the only one that heard, standing in close proximity and not wishing to interject in the other arguments/conversations that had erupted around them. Her eyes shot up at the sound of Rose's voice.

"Rose?" Kanaya asked from behind her in order to get the human's attention. Rose turned around to meet Kanaya, realizing her words had fallen upon deaf ears. "Are you sure you do not wish to give leadership a chance? We really could use someone like you in the Order. As you can see, we're all still shaken from our last defeat. We need a new leader who isn't battle-weary. Rose…we're a broken group…we need you to fix us."

"Kanaya…as much as I would love to become the new poster child for the Order…I need to think realistically," Rose began, "I can't just throw away my life. Things will get better for you and..."

"We both know that is a lie," Kanaya interjected with a slight edge to her voice, "I understand it is a lot to undertake. For gog's sake, you just met us; but please consider the proposition. I won't force you into the decision. I just believe it is something that needs more than a few seconds of thought before a final decision. Please? Just…think about it a little more?"

"Kanaya…I…," Rose trailed off. Looking into Maryam's eyes, she found not just the desperation and fear of the girl in green, but the need for change. She saw the death and despair amongst a whole race that was condemned to death. Who was she to so quickly refuse an offer to help? If someone had the chance to go back in time and rebel against Hitler they would do it wouldn't they? …Okay…bad analogy because the entire war was pretty much a rebellion against Hitler, so scratch that, but the point being was that if she had the chance to change something that she so zealously wished to change, why not jump at the opportunity? Rose's dark lips curled ever so slightly into a sweet smile as she said, "I will consider it…but…assuming I choose to become the leader…my only stipulation is that I will have the consent of everyone within the group." Rose turned to look over her shoulder at Vriska and then back at Kanaya, raising an eyebrow and retaining the same smile as if to say 'good luck'.

Kanaya glanced over at Vriska and then back to Rose, "That seems as fair a request as any."

"I SWEAR I'LL KILL YOU!" Terezi screamed, commanding the attention of everyone in the tunnel. The blue blood swung her cane at the other, who easily dodged the attack, laughing loudly.

"I don't even know why you try! You're so pathetic, Pyrope! No matter what you do you are always just a sad pathetic-," Vriska was cut off.

"May I have your attention please?" Kanaya rang out in both an attempt to stop the violence. The attempt was a success and all eyes went to Kanaya who drew up the hood of her cloak once more as she continued with, "I will be escorting Rose to her hive. I do not want there to be any homicide in my absence, is that to be understood?"

There was silence.

Kanaya sighed, "Aradia, I trust you will make sure those two don't kill each other?"

"Hm?" Aradia let out, being interrupted from her thoughts of what lovely corpses the pair of "sisters" would make, "Oh. Yes."

Kanaya fixed her with a stern glance a moment before turning to Vriska and Terezi, "I want you two to stay away from each other for the rest of the night. I mean it. No disfigurement from either of you."

"When did I start taking orders from you, Maryam?" Vriska asked almost childishly.

"I apologize," Kanaya began before humbly bowing, mockery only hinted at in her voice, "If it please, Her Marquise, would you pardon this poor soul?"

"Don't you forget it, Maryam," Vriska smirked referencing her ancestor's journals before dramatically sighing, "I suppose I'll let her keep her pathetic life just a little while longer…"

Kanaya straightened out, "Thank you."

Terezi began to growl at Vriska, but one then paused and let out, "…you're glaring at me, aren't you?" The blind girl sighed and placed her cane on the floor, allowing both hands to submissively slip to the head of the white scalemate.

"Well then," Kanaya sighed as she turned toward the same spot in which Vriska came, "I'll be gone fifteen minutes. Rose, shall we go? "

Rose nodded and made her way next to Kanaya, looking back at the group of trolls with a slight smirk. She half chuckled in a whisper, "You're like their mother."

"A what?" Kanaya responded as the sounds of the other member's voices slowly began to grow more and more quiet.

"You don't know what a mother is?" Rose asked.

"We are all hatched from a singular mother grub…we never meet our genetic forbearers," Kanaya passively explained.

"I see…are there any books I could find on troll culture? If I am to lead I find it only necessary that I should know my audience," Rose pointed out as the pair rounded a corner.

"It sounds as though you are considering the option more seriously," Kanaya responded with the hint of a smile.

"Perhaps," and that was the only word Rose used as a response. Kanaya waited for more, but that was all that stood. That one word.

After a short silence with nothing other than the sloshing of the toxic stream and the girl's footsteps, Kanaya added in a short response of, "I'm glad," breaking the silence, yet yielding to another. The rain outside had stopped, but footsteps could still be heard, running through puddles or stopping abruptly.

Kanaya dared to break it again, feeling a slight amount of embarrassment for causing the lack in utterance of words, "The books you wished to read…on Alternian culture…"

"Yes? …So long as Alternian is troll culture," Rose responded quickly.

"Yes. Our predecessors came to your planet from our home planet named Alternia in order to escape from the wrath of a wicked Condesce," Kanaya looked down a bit, "We came here seeking sanctuary...obviously we neglected the fact we were not welcome." Kanaya looked back up and shot a small smile toward Rose and then returned to the topic at hand, "No more books remain in your language, however we have a small collection of Alternian history and customs in our small library. I can bring them to you if you like. The only issue would be translation, which I would be more than happy to assist you with."

Rose hesitated for a while before responding, studying Kanaya's features to make sure she was alright before returning the smile and replying, "I would like that very much."

Kanaya smiled and then stopped, looking up to pinpoint a sewer grate above their heads, "This is where we part." She looked back to Rose. "Meet me here tomorrow at noon and I'll have the books prepared for you. It will take some time to translate them fully, but I can begin some tonight and then continue when we meet. If you have any questions, you'll be able to find me by this." Kanaya pointed to the silver Signless brooch holding her cloak together. "I do admit I do not spend all my time in these locations, and there is an abundant many, but if you are looking for me, your best bet is any of these areas. They're scattered throughout the city on both the human and troll sides. If you keep your eyes open I'm sure you will come across some in no time."

Rose nodded, "Thank you. I'll be sure to look out for them." Rose placed a hand on the black metal ladder jutting out from the now brick wall.

"Oh! Rose?," Kanaya let out in remembrance.

"Yes?," was Rose's response.

"I want to give you this," Kanaya said as she removed a necklace with the sign of the Signless from under her cloak, "This way if there are any other survivors they will know that you are undoubtedly a member of the Order…um…even if you are still questioning your recruitment…It was Karkat's and-"

"Oh, then I couldn't…," Rose let out, withdrawing her hand from the silver chain.

Kanaya looked down at the chain and then took Rose's hand, carefully dropping the necklace within before closing the human's fingers around it, "You can."

"Kanaya…thank you. I am deeply honored," Rose said squeezing her hand around the symbol, "Until tomorrow."

On impulse, Kanaya leaned forward and quickly kissed Rose's lips, "Until tomorrow."

Rose blinked as the girl turned, green cloak flowing as she did so. Rose looked down, opening up her hand at the symbol that had been bestowed upon her. She carefully unhinged the chain and placed the necklace around her neck. By the time she looked back up, Kanaya was nowhere in sight. Rose climbed the ladder, easily able to move this grate as it was lighter and less heavily reinforced than the one in front of the amphitheatre. After loving thoughts of the girl had gone, another more malicious thought had made its way into Rose's mind.

Taboo.

If abetting a troll could get you killed, what could kissing a troll do? Surely there was some kind of worse punishment for such an act, but at that moment Rose whisked the thought away. Why did the government have to dictate who she fell in love with? …Love? Was that really what she felt?

_You're getting ahead of yourself, Lalonde…_

Thoughts of rebellion, love, and the girl in green whizzed through her mind as she made her way through the alleyway. Small suburban houses squished together, all painted in a conforming grey bordered the street. Cracks in the street were filled with water; evidence of the previously fallen rain. Then, as Rose's purple downcast eyes registered, a splatter of crimson blood appeared and all her senses returned to her. The stench of smoke was rich in the air, as fires not too far off burned. Screams and shrieks of terror flooded her ears, accompanied by an offset car alarm and the distinguishable sound of shattering glass. Remembering the chaos that she had left behind above, Rose's footsteps hastened. She was sure to keep a downward glance, gracefully dodging people and other obstacles in her way as she made her way through the main street. Rose almost let out a scream when she felt a hand on her shoulder swing her around.

"Where have you been!? I've been lookin' all over for you!," Rose's roommate, Roxy, let out worriedly, the small stench of wine on her breath.

"I…um…w-well…," Rose stuttered, reminding her of the troll whom she had briefly met with the bull-like horns.

"That doesn' matter! Rosey, they've been lookin' for ya! Came by the place after things went bizerks an' came lookin for ya! Said ya ditched the rally or somethin! Please tell m'that's not true."


End file.
